Nutrients
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Considerable evidence links many neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders with multiple complex interactions between genetics and environmental factors such as nutrition. Mental health problems, autism, eating disorders, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and brain tumours are related to individual variability in numerous protein-coding and non-coding regions of the genome. ⋯ This review provides a critical evaluation of the following related areas: (1) recent advances in genomic and epigenomic technologies, and their relevance to brain disorders; (2) the emerging role of non-coding RNAs as key regulators of transcription, epigenetic processes and gene silencing; (3) novel approaches to nutrition, epigenetics and neuroscience; (4) gene-environment interactions, especially in the serotonergic system, as a paradigm of the multiple signalling pathways affected in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. Current and future advances in these four areas should contribute significantly to the prevention, amelioration and treatment of multiple devastating brain disorders.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Pharmacokinetics of high-dose weekly oral vitamin D3 supplementation during the third trimester of pregnancy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A pharmacokinetic study was conducted to assess the biochemical dose-response and tolerability of high-dose prenatal vitamin D3 supplementation in Dhaka, Bangladesh (23°N). Pregnant women at 27-30 weeks gestation (n = 28) were randomized to 70,000 IU once + 35,000 IU/week vitamin D3 (group PH: pregnant, higher dose) or 14,000 IU/week vitamin D3 (PL: pregnant, lower dose) until delivery. A group of non-pregnant women (n = 16) was similarly administered 70,000 IU once + 35,000 IU/week for 10 weeks (NH: non-pregnant, higher-dose). ⋯ Vitamin D3 was well tolerated; there were no supplement-related serious adverse clinical events or hypercalcemia. In summary, a regimen of an initial dose of 70,000 IU and 35,000 IU/week vitamin D3 in the third trimester of pregnancy was non-hypercalcemic and attained [25(OH)D] ≥ 80 nmol/L in virtually all mothers and newborns. Further research is required to establish the safety of high-dose vitamin D3 in pregnancy and to determine if supplement-induced [25(OH)D] elevations lead to maternal-infant health benefits.
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Obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and fatty liver, together termed metabolic syndrome, are key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Chronic feeding of a diet high in saturated fats and simple sugars, such as fructose and glucose, induces these changes in rats. Naturally occurring compounds could be a cost-effective intervention to reverse these changes. ⋯ Dietary supplementation with naringin (approximately 100 mg/kg/day) improved glucose intolerance and liver mitochondrial dysfunction, lowered plasma lipid concentrations and improved the structure and function of the heart and liver without decreasing total body weight. Naringin normalised systolic blood pressure and improved vascular dysfunction and ventricular diastolic dysfunction in high carbohydrate, high fat-fed rats. These beneficial effects of naringin may be mediated by reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, reduced oxidative stress, lowered plasma lipid concentrations and improved liver mitochondrial function in rats.